Ultrasound Image Diagnostic Apparatus

ABSTRACT

An ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus includes the following. An ultrasound probe outputs transmission ultrasound into a subject in response to reception of a pulsed signal and outputs a reception signal in response to reception of ultrasound reflected from the subject. A transmitter generates the pulsed signal and outputs the generated pulsed signal to the ultrasound probe. A receiver receives the reception signal from the ultrasound probe and generates sound-ray data. An image generator generates ultrasound image data from the sound-ray data. An input receiver receives target position information on a target position. A highlighted-area determiner determines a first highlighted area among multiple areas in a body mark based on the target position information. A display combiner combines the body mark including the first highlighted area with the generated ultrasound image data and displays the resulting image on a display unit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an ultrasound image diagnosticapparatus.

Description of Related Art

Ultrasound diagnosis, which is achieved by a simple operation with anultrasound probe that is placed on the surface of the subject to acquireultrasound images representing heart beat or movement of a fetus withhigh safety, can be repeated on the same subject. Ultrasound imagediagnostic apparatuses which are used for such ultrasound diagnosis andwhich display ultrasound images are known.

An ultrasound diagnosis with a known ultrasound image diagnosticapparatus requires the examiner (examination technician or doctor) toconduct sequential scanning for generating ultrasound images of multiplesites of the subject in order and examinations of the ultrasound images.In the sequential examination procedures, an unskilled examiner may scanthe body sites in a wrong order. To address the problem, the ultrasoundimage diagnostic apparatus used for the sequential examinationprocedures simultaneously displays scanned images of the body sites inchronological order in a single display area while highlighting theimage corresponding to the site in a current examination procedure amongthe images of the body sites (refer to Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-Open No. 2014-64637).

The examination procedures for ultrasound diagnosis, for example, on thebreast region, also may involve examinations in view of X-ray images andother diagnostic information acquired through other modalities orrepeated examinations on the same patient every 6 or 12 months.

Unfortunately, the traditional ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus,which simply highlights the body site in chronological order, does notindicate target areas (sites) based on diagnostic results of othermodalities and past ultrasound diagnosis. Thus, the ultrasound imagediagnostic apparatus cannot inform the examiner of such target areas.Moreover, the ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus cannot preserve therecords of the target areas (sites) that are closely observed during thediagnosis, for future reference.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to indicate a target area (site)so that an examiner can readily perceive the position of the targetarea.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided anultrasound image diagnostic apparatus including: an ultrasound probethat outputs transmission ultrasound into a subject in response toreception of a pulsed signal and outputs a reception signal in responseto reception of ultrasound reflected from the subject; a transmitterthat generates the pulsed signal and outputs the generated pulsed signalto the ultrasound probe; a receiver that receives the reception signalfrom the ultrasound probe and generates sound-ray data; an imagegenerator that generates ultrasound image data from the sound-ray data;an input receiver that receives target position information on a targetposition; a highlighted-area determiner that determines a firsthighlighted area among multiple areas in a body mark based on the targetposition information; and a display combiner that combines the body markincluding the first highlighted area with the generated ultrasound imagedata and displays the resulting image on a display unit.

Preferably, in the ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus, the targetposition information indicates an area including a prior occurrence of alesion or a lesion in the subject, among the multiple areas in the bodymark.

Preferably, the ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus, further includes:an input unit that receives operation information; and a body-markdivider that segments the body mark into multiple areas in accordancewith the operation information, wherein the highlighted-area determinerdetermines the first highlighted area among the multiple areas in thesegmented body mark.

Preferably, in the ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus, the inputreceiver receives the target position information from anotherdiagnostic apparatus, and the highlighted-area determiner determines thefirst highlighted area among the multiple areas in the body mark basedon the received target position information.

Preferably, in the ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus, the inputreceiver reads the target position information from a first storage unitwhich stores the target position information on the subject, and thehighlighted-area determiner determines the first highlighted area amongthe multiple areas in the body mark based on the read target positioninformation.

Preferably, the ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus further includes:a controller that connects ultrasound image data to the multiple areasin the body mark and stores the resulting data in a second storage unit,the ultrasound image data being generated by examinations of sequentialscanning of multiple target areas in the body mark.

Preferably, in the ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus, thehighlighted-area determiner determines an area in a current examinationprocedure to be a second highlighted area, in the examinationsperforming the sequential scanning of the multiple target areas in thebody mark for generation of ultrasound image data to be displayed, andthe display combiner combines the body mark including the secondhighlighted area with the generated ultrasound image data and displaysthe resulting image on the display unit.

Preferably, the ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus further includes:an input unit that receives a predetermined input from an operator; andan output controller, wherein, the highlighted-area determinerdetermines a third highlighted area including a position correspondingto a lesion or a suspected lesion based on the input by the operator,and the output controller outputs the first highlighted area and thethird highlighted area for simultaneous visual observation.

Preferably, the ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus further includes:a timing controller that counts the examination time of each of theareas; and an output controller, wherein, the highlighted-areadeterminer determines the area corresponding to the longest examinationtime counted by the timing controller to be a third highlighted areaincluding a position corresponding to a lesion or a suspected lesion,and the output controller outputs the first highlighted area and thethird highlighted area for simultaneous visual observation.

Preferably, in the ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus, the outputcontroller combines the body mark including the third highlighted areawith ultrasound image data generated corresponding to the thirdhighlighted area and displays the resulting image on the display unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description given hereinbelow and the appended drawings, andthus are not intended to define the limits of the present invention, andwherein;

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a medical image management systemaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an external view of an ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the functional configuration ofan ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus;

FIG. 4 illustrates body marks indicating breasts;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a first pre-examination highlightingprocess;

FIG. 6 illustrates body marks indicating breasts after segmentation;

FIG. 7 illustrating a menu before start of examination procedures;

FIG. 8A is a first body mark indicating a right breast;

FIG. 8B is a second body mark indicating the right breast;

FIG. 8C is a third body mark indicating the right breast;

FIG. 8D is a fourth body mark indicating the right breast;

FIG. 8E is a fifth body mark indicating the right breast;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a second pre-examinationhighlighting process;

FIG. 10 illustrates a menu during examination;

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating a post-examination highlightingprocess; and

FIG. 12 illustrates examination results.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described withreference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings should not beconstrued to limit the present invention.

A medical image management system 1000 to be installed in a medicalfacility, such as a hospital, will now be described with reference toFIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the medical imagemanagement system 1000 according to this embodiment.

With reference to FIG. 1, the medical image management system 1000includes an ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1, an X-ray capturingapparatus 2, an electronic medical-record terminal 3, a receipt terminal4, a picture archiving and communication system (PACS) terminal 5, animage server 6, and a medical information server 7. The components ofthe medical image management system 1000 are connected via a local areanetwork (LAN) 8, for example.

A typical communication scheme used in a hospital is a digital imagingand communication in medicine (DICOM). The communication between thecomponents connected via LAN is established by DICOM modality worklistmanagement (DICOM MWM) or DICOM modality performed procedure step (DICOMMPPS). Any other communication scheme may be used for this embodiment.

The receipt terminal 4 is installed on a reception desk of a medicalfacility. The electronic medical-record terminal 3 and the PACS terminal5 are installed on the desk in an examination room in the medicalfacility. The image server 6, the medical information server 7, and theultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1 are installed at predeterminedpositions in the examination room. The X-ray capturing apparatus 2 isinstalled in an X-ray capturing room in the medical facility.

The receipt terminal 4 is used for calculation of insurance points andmedical fees. The receptionist refers to a medical card of a patient,for example, and inputs the corresponding reception number, the name ofthe patient, and the patient ID to the receipt terminal 4. The receiptterminal 4 requests the medical information server 7 to transmit anelectronic medical record or medical record data containing detailedinformation of the patient corresponding to the input name and thepatient ID.

The medical information server 7 manages medical information. After thereceipt terminal 4 receives the electronic medical record from themedical information server 7, the receptionist confirms the content ofthe electronic medical record on the display of the receipt terminal 4and instructs the transmission of the electronic medical record from thereceipt terminal 4 to the electronic medical-record terminal 3.

The electronic medical-record terminal 3 is installed on the examinationdesk in the examination room and is used by a doctor during diagnosis ofa patient. The receipt terminal 4 transmits the electronic medicalrecord of the patient to be examined to the electronic medical-recordterminal 3. After the diagnosis of the patient, the receptionist inputsthe information required for calculation of the medical fee andpreparation of a receipt (calculation of medical points) to the receiptterminal 4 on the basis of the information in the electronic medicalrecord. After inputting information required for the receipt, thereceptionist confirms the medical bill appearing on the display of thereceipt terminal 4, receives payment of the medical fee from thepatient, and issues a medical receipt.

Upon updating of the medical record of the patient examined by thedoctor, the electronic medical-record terminal 3 displays the content ofthe electronic medical record of the patient to be examined next inorder of reception of electronic medical records from the receiptterminal 4. The doctor sees the patient and inputs the content of thediagnosis to the electronic medical-record terminal 3. The doctorradiographically examines the patient with the X-ray capturing apparatus2, if necessary.

The X-ray capturing apparatus 2 captures a X-ray image of the patient(subject) in the X-ray capturing room and reads the captured image togenerate X-ray image data. The X-ray capturing apparatus 2 is amammographic apparatus or a computed radiographic (CR) apparatus, forexample. The X-ray capturing apparatus 2 saves the X-ray image dataacquired through the examination in the image server 6.

The image server 6 includes an image data base (DB) and stores imagedata, such as X-ray image data and ultrasound image data. The X-rayimage data stored in the image server 6 is read by the PACS terminal 5.The PACS terminal 5 displays the corresponding X-ray image on thedisplay. The doctor refers to the X-ray image displayed on the displayof the PACS terminal 5 and inputs medical findings in the electronicmedical-record terminal 3. After the diagnosis, the doctor inputs aninstruction for the end of the diagnosis to the electronicmedical-record terminal 3. In response, the electronic medical-recordterminal 3 sends the electronic medical record to the receipt terminal4.

During the diagnosis, the doctor carries out an ultrasound examinationwith the ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1, if necessary. Theultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1 stores the ultrasound image dataacquired through the examination in the image server 6. The ultrasoundimage data stored in the image server 6 is read by the PACS terminal 5.The PACS terminal 5 displays the corresponding ultrasound images on thedisplay of the PACS terminal 5. The doctor refers to the ultrasoundimage displayed on the PACS terminal 5 and inputs medical findings inthe electronic medical-record terminal 3.

In this embodiment, information instructing the doctor to conductultrasound examination on the patient is displayed on the ultrasoundimage diagnostic apparatus 1 in accordance with the examinationinformation, such as the X-ray capturing data of the patient captured bythe X-ray capturing apparatus 2 and the ultrasound image data acquiredthrough scanning with the ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1. Insome cases, examination history containing the results of examinationsconducted in the past is recorded on physical paper. In such a case, theX-ray capturing apparatus 2, the electronic medical-record terminal 3,the receipt terminal 4, the PACS terminal 5, and the image server 6 maybe removed from the medical image management system 1000.

With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the ultrasound image diagnosticapparatus 1 will now be described in detail. FIG. 2 is an external viewof the ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1. FIG. 3 is a blockdiagram illustrating the functional configuration of the ultrasoundimage diagnostic apparatus 1.

The ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1 outputs an ultrasound imagerepresenting the state of the internal anatomy of the living body of apatient (subject). That is, the ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1transmits ultrasound (ultrasound waves) into the living body of thesubject and receives ultrasound waves reflected from the subject(reflected ultrasound waves or echoes). The ultrasound image diagnosticapparatus 1 receives the reflected ultrasound waves, converts thereceived ultrasound waves to electrical signals, and generatesultrasound image data based on the electrical signals. The ultrasoundimage diagnostic apparatus 1 displays an ultrasound image representingthe internal state of the subject on the basis of the generatedultrasound image data. The ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1generates additional information associated with the generatedultrasound image data on the basis of information on the patient. Theultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1 can add such information to theultrasound image data to generate image files containing DICOM imagedata conforming to the DICOM specifications.

With reference to FIG. 3, the ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1includes an ultrasound image diagnostic device 1 a including an inputunit 101 and a display unit 111, an ultrasound probe 1 b, and a cable 1c. The ultrasound probe 1 b transmits ultrasound waves into the subjectand receives reflected ultrasound waves from the subject. The ultrasoundimage diagnostic device 1 a is connected to the ultrasound probe 1 b viathe cable 1 c and transmits an electrical driving signal to theultrasound probe 1 b to instruct the ultrasound probe 1 b to transmitultrasound waves into the subject. The ultrasound probe 1 b generateselectrical signals in response to the ultrasound waves reflected fromthe subject. The ultrasound image diagnostic device 1 a receives theelectrical signals (reception signal) from the ultrasound probe 1 b andgenerates the ultrasound image data as described above.

The ultrasound probe 1 b includes transducers b each composed of apiezoelectric device (see FIG. 3). The transducers b are disposed in aone-dimensional array along a direction (scanning direction), forexample. In this embodiment, the ultrasound probe 1 b includes 192transducers b, for example. Alternatively, the transducers b may bedisposed in a two-dimensional array. Any number of transducers b may beselected. In this embodiment, the ultrasound probe 1 b is a linearelectronic scanning probe that performs linear scanning of ultrasound.Alternatively, the ultrasound probe 1 b may perform sector or convexscanning. The communication between the ultrasound image diagnosticdevice 1 a and the ultrasound probe 1 b may be established through wirecommunication with the cable 1 c. Alternatively, the communication maybe established through wireless communication, such as an ultra-wideband(UWB) scheme.

With reference to FIG. 3, the ultrasound image diagnostic device 1 aincludes an input unit 101, a transmitter 102, a receiver 103, a signalprocessor 104, an image generator 105, a body-mark divider 106, abody-mark storage unit 107, a scanning-information storage unit 108, ahighlighted-area determiner 109, a display combiner 110, a display unit111, a controller 112, a clock unit 113, and a communicating unit 114.

The input unit 101 includes various switches and buttons, a track ball,a mouse, and a keyboard for input of start commands for diagnosis andpersonal data of subjects, for example. The input unit 101 outputsoperation signals to the controller 112.

The transmitter 102 is a circuit under the control of the controller 112and supplies electrical driving signals to the ultrasound probe 1 b viathe cable 1 c to cause the ultrasound probe 1 b to generate ultrasoundwaves. The transmitter 102 includes a clock generating circuit, a delaycircuit, and a pulse generating circuit, for example. The clockgenerating circuit generates clock signals for determining thetransmission timing of driving signals and the frequency fortransmission. The delay circuit determines delay times for the timingsof transmitting driving signals through individual paths correspondingto the transducers and delays the transmission of the driving signals bythe determined delay times, to converge a transmission beam consistingof ultrasound waves. The pulse generating circuit generates pulsedsignals or driving signals in a predetermined cycle. The transmitter 102having such a configuration drives some of the adjacent transducers b(for example, 64 of the 192 transducers) aligned in the ultrasound probe1 b, to generate ultrasound waves, for example. The transmitter 102changes the transducers to be driven sequentially in the scanningdirection every generation of ultrasound waves for scanning.

The receiver 103 is a circuit under the control of the controller 112and receives the electrical signals from the ultrasound probe 1 b viathe cable 1 c. The signal processor 104 is a circuit under the controlof the controller 112 and processes the signals from the receiver 103 togenerate sound-ray data. The signal processor 104 includes an amplifier,an A/D converter circuit, and a phased adder circuit, for example. Theamplifier is a circuit that amplifies the signals received through theindividual paths corresponding to the transducers by a predeterminedamplification. The A/D converter circuit performs analog-to-digitalconversion on the amplified signals. The phased adder circuit adds delaytimes to the A/D converted signals received through the individual pathscorresponding to the transducers, to match the time phase, and adds(phased addition) the signals to generate sound-ray data.

Under the control of the controller 112, the image generator 105converts the sound-ray data to brightness through envelope detection,logarithmic amplification, and adjustment of the dynamic range and gainon the sound-ray data from the signal processor 104, to generate B-modeultrasound image data (B-mode image data). That is, the B-mode imagedata represents the intensity of the received signal in brightness.Alternatively, the image generator 105 may generate image data otherthan B-mode image data, such as A-mode image data, M-mode image data, orDoppler image data.

The body-mark divider 106 segments the body marks to be superposed onthe ultrasound image on the basis of the information input via the inputunit 101 or the communicating unit 114, under the control of thecontroller 112. The body-mark storage unit 107 is a semiconductor memorythat stores the body marks segmented by the body-mark divider 106, underthe control of the controller 112. The scanning-information storage unit108 is a semiconductor memory that stores the ultrasound image datagenerated by the image generator 105 and the scanning informationcontaining the examination time and operation of the ultrasoundexamination, under the control of the controller 112. Thehighlighted-area determiner 109 determines the area to be highlightedamong the segmented areas of the body marks stored in the body-markstorage unit 107 and outputs the body marks containing the highlightedareas, under the control of the controller 112.

Under the control of the controller 112, the display combiner 110establishes the display of the highlighted area of the body marks inputby the highlighted-area determiner 109, combines the ultrasound imagedata generated by the image generator 105 and/or menu data generated bythe controller 112 with the body marks, to generate combined image data,and outputs the combined image data to the display unit 111. The menudata generated by the controller 112 contains menu data other thanultrasound images, i.e., body marks 401 in a pre-examination menu 400illustrated in FIG. 7, for example.

The display unit 111 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), acathode-ray tube (CRT) display, an organic electroluminescent (EL)display, an inorganic EL display, or a plasma display, for example. Thedisplay unit 111 displays images in the display area in accordance withimage signals output from the display combiner 110.

The controller 112 includes a central processing unit (CPU), a read onlymemory (ROM), and a random access memory (RAM), for example. Thecontroller 112 reads various processing programs, such as systemprograms stored in the ROM, loads these programs to the RAM, andcomprehensively controls the operation of the components of theultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1 in accordance with the loadedprograms. The ROM includes a non-volatile memory, such as asemiconductor, and stores system programs corresponding to theultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1, various sub-programs executableby the system programs, such as first and second pre-examinationhighlighting programs and a post-examination highlighting program, andvarious data items, such as gamma tables. These programs are stored inthe form of program codes readable by a computer. The CPU operates inaccordance with these program codes. The RAM provides a work area fortemporarily storing the various programs to be executed by the CPU anddata associated with these programs. For simplification of the drawing,the control lines from the controller 112 to the components arepartially omitted in FIG. 3.

The clock unit 113 is a real-time clock that counts the current time anddate and outputs information on the current time and date to thecontroller 112.

The communicating unit 114 includes a LAN adapter and communicates dataamong components via a network N, such as the LAN 8. The communicatingunit 114 and the LAN 8 may support wire communication or wirelesscommunication.

Some or all of the functional blocks of the transmitter 102, thereceiver 103, the signal processor 104, the image generator 105, thebody-mark divider 106, the highlighted-area determiner 109, the displaycombiner 110, the controller 112, the clock unit 113, and thecommunicating unit 114 of the ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1can be provided as hardware circuits, such as integrated circuits. Anexample of an integrated circuit is a large scale integration (LSI)circuit. Depending on the degree of integration, the LSI circuit may bereferred to as an IC, a system LSI circuit, a super LSI circuit, or anultra LSI circuit. Any integration method other than LSI may be appliedto the circuit. For example, a dedicated circuit or a general-purposeprocessor may be provided, or a reconfigurable processor that canreconfigure the connection and settings of a field programmable gatearray (FPGA) and circuit cells in an LSI circuit may be used. Some orall of the functional blocks may be provided by software. In such acase, the software is stored in one or more storage media, such as aROM, an optical disk, and a hard disk. The stored software is executedby a processor.

The operation of the medical image management system 1000 will now bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 4 to 12. With reference to FIGS. 4 to7, a first pre-examination highlighting process executed by theultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1 will now be described. FIG. 4illustrates body marks 200 of breasts. FIG. 5 is a flow chartillustrating the first pre-examination highlighting process. FIG. 6illustrates body marks 300 of breasts after segmentation. FIG. 7illustrates a pre-examination menu 400.

In an examination process according to this embodiment, a patientrequests an examination for breast cancer at a medical facility equippedwith the medical image management system 1000; in the first examinationon the patient, a doctor acquires X-ray image data of the breasts of thepatient with the X-ray capturing apparatus 2; and in the secondexamination on the patient conducted at a later date, the doctoracquires ultrasound image data of the breasts of the patient with theultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1.

In the first examination, the X-ray image data on the breasts acquiredwith the X-ray capturing apparatus 2 is stored in the image server 6,and X-ray images based on the X-ray image data on the breasts appear onthe PACS terminal 5. The doctor visually observes the X-ray images ofthe breasts on the PACS terminal 5 to determine a lesion and inputslesion position information indicating the position of the lesion on thebreasts as target position information to the electronic medical-recordterminal 3. The electronic medical-record terminal 3 connects theinformation of the lesion position on the breast to the patient ID, theX-ray image data ID, and information on the date and time of capturing,and sends the information to the medical information server 7 to bestored.

During this operation, the X-ray image and the body marks 200representing breasts, which are illustrated in FIG. 4, appear on theelectronic medical-record terminal 3. The body marks 200 are a rightbody mark 210 of the right breast and a left body mark 220 of the leftbreast. The body marks 210 and 220 each include multiple unit areas,which are smallest segmentation units of the body marks.

For example, the doctor inputs a lesion position P on the right bodymark 210 of the right breast. The lesion position information on thebreast is stored in the medical information server 7 in the form oftwo-dimensional coordinates corresponding to the lesion position P onthe body marks 200, for example.

The second examination is then conducted. In the second examination,different areas on the breasts are sequentially examined in thechronical order to acquire ultrasound image data of the areas.

In the second examination, the doctor and the patient are both in thesame examination room, where the doctor uses the ultrasound imagediagnostic apparatus 1 to examine the patient (subject). In such a case,an instruction for carrying out the first pre-examination highlightingprocess input by the user (doctor) via the input unit 101 triggers thecontroller 112 of the ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1 to carryout the first pre-examination highlighting process in accordance withthe first pre-examination highlighting program stored in the ROM.

With reference to FIG. 5, the controller 112 receives the patient IDfrom the user via the input unit 101, requests the medical informationserver 7 to send examination history or lesion position informationcorresponding to the patient ID via the communicating unit 114, andreceives the examination history from the medical information server 7(Step S11). In this way, the communicating unit 114 may function as aninput receiver that receives the target position information.

In response to the request for the examination history corresponding tothe patient ID, the medical information server 7 reads the lesionposition information corresponding to the patient ID in a storage unit(not shown) and sends this information to the ultrasound imagediagnostic apparatus 1. Alternatively, in Step S11, the body-markdivider 106 may receive a manual input designating the examinationhistory or lesion position information from the user via the input unit101, request the medical information server 7 to send the lesionposition information corresponding to the designation via thecommunicating unit 114, and receives the examination history.Alternatively, in Step S11, the body-mark divider 106 may receive thelesion position information directly input from the user via the inputunit 101. For example, the user may refer to the electronicmedical-record terminal 3 or a record on physical paper to input thelesion position information on the body marks displayed on the displayunit 111 of the ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1. In this way,the input unit 101 may function as an input receiver that receivestarget position information on a target position.

The body-mark divider 106 displays body marks 300 representing breastson the display unit 111, receives an instruction for segmentation of thebody marks 300 into multiple areas from the user, segments the bodymarks 300 in accordance with the instruction, and stores the segmentedbody marks in the body-mark storage unit 107 (Step S12). With referenceto FIG. 6, the body marks 300 are a right body mark 310 of the rightbreast and a left body mark 320 of the left breast. For example, inresponse to an instruction for designating at least one of the smallestsegmentation units of the body marks 310 and 320, the body-mark divider106 segments the right body mark 310 into areas 311, 312, 313, 314, and315, and the left body mark 320 into areas 321, 322 323, 324, and 325.Alternatively, in Step S12, the body-mark divider 106 may segment thebody marks 300 on the basis of the input of the number of segments (forexample, 10) in the body marks 300 or input of selection of asegmentation pattern among pre-set multiple patterns of the body marks300 from the user via the input unit 101.

The highlighted-area determiner 109 reads the segmented body marksstored in the body-mark storage unit 107 and determines the area to behighlighted containing the lesion among the areas in the body markssegmented in Step S12 on the basis of the examination history or thelesion position information acquired in Step S11 (Step S13). In StepS13, the area to be highlighted is determined through alignment of theposition of the lesion and the background of the body marks 300, wherethe reference point resides at the bottom left of the body marks 300,for example. For example, the area 312 of the body marks 300 illustratedin FIG. 6 is determined to be the highlighted area that corresponds tothe position of the lesion position P illustrated in FIG. 4.

The display combiner 110 displays the body marks 300 including thehighlighted area determined in Step S13 on the display unit 111 (StepS14) to terminate the first pre-examination highlighting process.

After the first pre-examination highlighting process, an examinationinvolving capturing of ultrasound images starts. At this time, the bodymarks 300 including the highlighted area displayed in Step S14continuously appear on the display unit 111. In the ultrasound imagediagnostic apparatus 1, the transmitter 102, the receiver 103, thesignal processor 104, the image generator 105, and the display combiner110, display the real-time (live) ultrasound image data generatedthrough the transmission and reception of ultrasound by the ultrasoundprobe 1 b together with the body marks 300 including the areahighlighted in Step S14 in an examination menu on the display unit 111,under the control of the controller 112.

In the examination procedures after the first pre-examinationhighlighting process, the pre-examination menu 400 appears on thedisplay unit 111 as a register menu for patient information, asillustrated in FIG. 7, for example. The pre-examination menu 400includes body marks 401 and information boxes 402 and 403. The bodymarks 401 correspond to the body marks 300 including the area 311highlighted in Step S14. The information box 402 displays informationsuch as the patient ID. The information box 403 displays informationsent from the medical information server 7, such as a mammographicreport (radiographic report of breast region) included in the medicalfindings of the patient to be examined, for example. The doctor conductssequential examination procedures of the areas in the body marks 401 inorder, while paying extra attention to the highlighted area 312containing the lesion determined in the X-ray images.

The examination history referred to in the first pre-examinationhighlighting process may be a result of ultrasound examinations. In sucha case, the first ultrasound examination is a usual ultrasoundexamination. The controller 112 receives the lesion position informationdiagnosed through the ultrasound examination from the user or doctor viathe input unit 101, connects the position of the lesion to the patientID of the patient to be examined, and stores the position in thescanning-information storage unit 108 or the medical information server7. In the second ultrasound examination of the same patient conductedafter 6 or 12 months, the first pre-examination highlighting process iscarried out at the ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1. At thistime, the controller 112 acquires the lesion position informationcorresponding to the patient ID of the patient who received the firstultrasound examination, as the examination history from thescanning-information storage unit 108 or the medical information server7, in Step S11. In this way, the controller 112 functions as an inputreceiver, and the scanning-information storage unit 108 functions as afirst storage unit that stores target position information.

The lesion position information as the target position information maybe the position of something other than an actual lesion, such as asuspected lesion, a prior occurrence of a lesion, or a prior occurrenceof a suspected lesion.

The highlighted-area determiner 109 may acquire the breast density ofthe patient and assign different colors to the highlighted areascorresponding to the target position information depending on the breastdensity. For example, high breast density may be displayed in a firstcolor, whereas low breast density may be displayed in a second color.The highlighted-area determiner 109 may assign different colors to thehighlighted areas depending on diagnostic information, such as category,based on a prior examination. For example, a lesion in the benigncategory may be a highlighted area in a third color and a lesion in themalignant category may be displayed in a fourth color. Besides thecategory, the diagnostic information may indicate shades of thesuspected lesion or the size and shape of the lesion. Thehighlighted-area determiner 109 can receive the information on thepatient or the diagnostic information from the input unit 101 or themedical information server 7 via the communicating unit 114. Thehighlighted-area determiner 109 can acquire the information on thepatient or the diagnostic information through analysis of image datasent from the medical information server 7. For example, breast densitycan be estimated through analysis of the distribution of brightness inan image captured by the X-ray capturing apparatus 2 and/or an imagecaptured by the ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1, and thecharacteristics of the lesion can be detected through machine learningtechniques. For example, the scanning-information storage unit 108stores a database connecting the breast density and the category withcolor, and the highlighted-area determiner 109 refers to the database todetermine (change) the color of the highlighted area in accordance withthe breast density or the category. Besides color, the highlighted-areadeterminer 109 may change the pattern (e.g., density of hatched lines,dots, or other patterns filling the area) of the highlighted area. Inthis way, the target position information can be visually observed withhigher precision.

With reference to FIGS. 8A to 10, a second pre-examination highlightingprocess to be carried out at the ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1will now be described. FIG. 8A is a first right body mark 310 aindicating the right breast. FIG. 8B is a second right body mark 310 bindicating the right breast. FIG. 8C is a third right body mark 310 cindicating the right breast. FIG. 8D is a fourth body mark 310 dindicating the right breast. FIG. 8E is a fifth right body mark 310 eindicating the right breast. FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating thesecond pre-examination highlighting process. FIG. 10 illustrates aprogress management menu 500.

The second pre-examination highlighting process involves highlighting anarea of the body marks on the basis of a past diagnostic result andmanaging the progress of the sequential examination procedures of theultrasound images of the examined body sites. An example order of thesequential examination procedures of ultrasound images will now bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 8A to 8E.

Ultrasound examinations on sites of the subject in the highlighted areasof the body marks are conducted in the sequential order of FIGS. 8A, 8B,8C, 8D, and 8E. Each of the body marks 310 a, 310 b, 310 c, 310 d, and310 e in FIGS. 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D, and 8E, respectively, includes areas 311,312, 313, 314, and 315. In this description, the areas in the body markssubjected to the sequential examination procedures are highlighted intwo different ways. The area of the subject in a current examinationprocedure and including the position of a lesion diagnosed through apast examination is displayed with a first highlight. The area of thesubject in the current examination procedure is displayed with a secondhighlight. The area with the first highlight (first highlighted area)and the area with the second highlight (second highlighted area) arepresented in different colors and/or patterns.

The area 312 of the right body mark 310 a is displayed with the firsthighlight. The areas 314, 315, 313, and 311 of the respective body marks310 b, 310 c, 310 d, and 310 e are displayed with the second highlight.In these examples, five areas are defined in each breast for thesequential ultrasound examination procedures.

The first and second examinations are also conducted in the secondpre-examination highlighting process. The first examination is the sameas that in the first pre-examination highlighting process. In the secondexamination, the doctor and the patient are both in the same examinationroom, where the doctor uses the ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1to examine the patient (subject). In such a case, an instruction forcarrying out the second pre-examination highlighting process input bythe user (doctor) via the input unit 101 triggers the controller 112 tocarry out the second pre-examination highlighting process in accordancewith the second pre-examination highlighting display program stored inthe ROM.

Steps S21 and S22 in FIG. 9 are the same as Steps S11 and S12 in FIG. 5,respectively. The highlighted-area determiner 109 determines the area tobe displayed with the first highlight among the areas in the body marksdefined in Step S22, on the basis of the examination history or thelesion position information acquired in Step S21 (Step S23).

The controller 112 displays a progress management menu of a currentultrasound examination procedure (the order of the sequential ultrasoundexamination procedures) on the display unit 111, instructs thetransmitter 102, the receiver 103, the signal processor 104, the imagegenerator 105, and the display combiner 110 to display the body marksand real-time ultrasound image data generated through transmission andreception of ultrasound by the ultrasound probe 1 b on the progressmanagement menu, starts counting the duration of the current examinationprocedure with reference to the current time and date sent from theclock unit 113, receives an input operation from the user via the inputunit 101, carries out processing corresponding to the input operation(for example, storing (saving) data on any ultrasound image frame in thereal-time ultrasound image data in the scanning-information storage unit108), and starts storing the information on the input operation orscanning information in the scanning-information storage unit 108 (StepS24). In Step S24 carried out immediately after Step S28 involvingswitching to the next examination, the controller 112 refers to thecurrent time and date sent from the clock unit 113 to end the countingof duration of the previous examination and stores the time of theprevious examination as scanning information in the scanning-informationstorage unit 108. The controller 112 connects the scanned ultrasoundimage data to the areas in the body marks and stores the resulting datain the scanning-information storage unit 108. For example, thescanning-information storage unit 108 stores a database containing thenumbers of the areas in the body marks connected to the ultrasound imagedata. In this way, the scanning-information storage unit 108 alsofunctions as a second storage unit that connects the ultrasound imagedata to the areas in the body marks and stores the ultrasound imagedata.

The first and second storage units may have the same configuration asthe scanning-information storage unit 108 or any other configuration.The first storage unit may have a different configuration from thesecond storage unit.

The current progress management menu displayed in Step S24 is theprogress management menu 500 illustrated in FIG. 10, for example. Theprogress management menu 500 includes a body mark 501, an ultrasoundimage 502, and a “next” button 503. The body mark 501 includes a secondhighlighted area to be currently examined. The body mark 501 isidentical to the right body mark 310 b in FIG. 8B in the secondexamination procedure, for example. The ultrasound image 502 is areal-time ultrasound image. The “next” button 503 is clicked to switchto the next area (to proceed to the next examination in order). Otherthan clicking the “next” button 503, a hard key of the input unit 101may be operated to proceed to the next area.

The highlighted-area determiner 109 determines whether the currenthighlighted area in the body mark in the progress management menudisplayed in Step S24 is the first highlighted area determined in StepS23, on the basis of the scanning information on the current examinationstored in the scanning-information storage unit 108 (Step S25). If thecurrent highlighted area is the first highlighted area (YES in StepS25), the display combiner 110 displays the current area with the firsthighlight in the body mark in the current progress management menudisplayed in Step S24 (Step S26). If the current highlighted area is notthe first highlighted area (NO in Step S25), the display combiner 110displays the current area with the second highlight in the body mark inthe current progress management menu displayed in Step S24 (Step S27).The highlighted-area determiner 109 determines whether to proceed to thenext examination depending on the clicking of the “next” button 503 bythe user via the input unit 101, on the basis of the scanninginformation on the current examination stored in thescanning-information storage unit 108 (Step S28). If the current area isnot switched to the next area (NO in Step S28), the process repeats StepS28.

If the current area is switched to the next area (YES in Step S28), thehighlighted-area determiner 109 determines whether to end the scanningin the sequential examination procedures on the basis of whether thecurrent examination is the last examination (Step S29). If the scanningis not to end (NO in Step S29), the process goes to Step S24 and thecurrent area is switched to the next area. If the scanning is to end(YES in Step S29), the second pre-examination highlighting process ends.

The examination history referred to in the second pre-examinationhighlighting process may be the information on the ultrasoundexamination acquired in Step S21, as in the first pre-examinationhighlighting process.

In response to an instruction for displaying ultrasound images input tothe ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1 via the input unit 101 afterthe second pre-examination highlighting process, the highlighted-areadeterminer 109 reads the ultrasound image data acquired through scanningof the areas during the second pre-examination highlighting process andthe scanning information in the scanning-information storage unit 108,and the display combiner 110 displays the ultrasound image data on theareas and the scanning information on the areas on the display unit 111.

A post-examination highlighting process carried out in the ultrasoundimage diagnostic apparatus 1 will now be described with reference toFIGS. 11 and 12. FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating thepost-examination highlighting process. FIG. 12 illustrates anexamination result menu 600.

An object of the present invention (i.e., readily informing an examinerof the position of target area (site)) can be achieved even without thepost-examination highlighting process described in the following. Thepost-examination highlighting process is preferred for readyconfirmation of the position of a target area (site) by the examinerafter the examination in addition to before the examination. Thepost-examination highlighting process can eliminate the first and secondpre-examination highlighting processes described above. That is, anobject of the present invention can be achieved through thepost-examination highlighting process without the first and secondpre-examination highlighting processes.

After the ultrasound examination, the post-examination highlightingprocess is carried out to display an ultrasound image data itemsatisfying predetermined conditions indicating that the data item is atarget data item specified by the examiner, among the ultrasound imagedata items acquired through the sequential examination procedures,together with a body mark including a highlighted area corresponding tothe site captured in the ultrasound image data. The predeterminedconditions refer to a predetermined duration of the ultrasoundexamination of the ultrasound image data item or a predeterminedoperation, such as saving the ultrasound image data item, for example.For example, the first examination is the same as that in the firstpre-examination highlighting process, but the lesion positioninformation determined in the X-ray image capturing in the firstexamination should not be referred to in the post-examinationhighlighting process.

In the second examination, the doctor and the patient are both in thesame examination room, where the doctor uses the ultrasound imagediagnostic apparatus 1 to examine the patient (subject). In such a case,an instruction for carrying out the post-examination highlightingprocess input by the user (doctor) via the input unit 101 triggers thecontroller 112 to start the post-examination highlighting process.

Steps S31, S32, and S33 in FIG. 11 are the same as Steps S24, S27, andS28, in FIG. 9, respectively. If the sequential ultrasound examinationprocedures are finished (YES in Step S33), the highlighted-areadeterminer 109 reads the scanning information stored in thescanning-information storage unit 108 in Step S31. In accordance withthe scanning information containing the duration and operationinformation of the examination procedures, the highlighted-areadeterminer 109 determines at least one third-highlighted areacorresponding to the examination procedure having the longest durationand/or the examination procedure having a specific operation, such assaving the ultrasound image data (Step S34). The third highlighted areais presented in a color and/or pattern different from those of the firstand second highlighted areas. The third highlighted area may bepresented in a different color and/or pattern depending on the durationof the ultrasound examinations and the presence of a specific operationin the ultrasound examinations, or depending on the duration of theultrasound examination or the type of operation conducted.

The highlighted-area determiner 109 reads the ultrasound image dataacquired through the ultrasound scanning performed in Step S31 in thescanning-information storage unit 108, and the display combiner 110generates to display an examination result menu on the display unit 111(Step S35). The examination result menu shows the body marks of theultrasound examinations in connection with the ultrasound image data ofthe ultrasound examinations. The body marks include the firsthighlighted area identical to that in the progress management menu inStep S31 and the third highlighted area determined in Step S34. Thepost-examination highlighting process then ends.

Similar to the first and second pre-examination highlighting processes,the first highlighted area may be displayed on the basis of the lesionposition information as the target position information in thepost-examination highlighting process. In such a case, the examinationresult menu displayed in Step S35 is the examination result menu 600 inFIG. 12, for example. The examination result menu 600 includesultrasound image boxes 601 a, 601 b, 601 c, 601 d, and 601 e andinformation boxes 602 and 603.

The ultrasound image boxes 601 a, 601 b, 601 c, 601 d, and 601 e containbody marks corresponding to the sequential examination procedures andultrasound images based on the ultrasound image data stored during thesequential examination procedures. The body marks in the ultrasoundimage boxes 601 c, 601 d, and 601 e include second highlighted areasrespectively corresponding to the areas 315, 313, and 311 in the bodymarks 300 in FIG. 6. The body mark in the ultrasound image box 601 aincludes a first highlighted area corresponding to the area 312 in thebody marks 300 in FIG. 6. The body mark in the ultrasound image box 601b includes a third highlighted area corresponding to the area 314 in thebody marks 300 in FIG. 6.

According to the embodiment described above, the ultrasound imagediagnostic apparatus 1 includes an ultrasound probe 1 b, a transmitter102, a receiver 103, a signal processor 104, an image generator 105, aninput receiver that receives target position information, ahighlighted-area determiner 109 that determines a first highlighted areaamong multiple areas in a body mark on the basis of the target positioninformation, and a display combiner 110 that combines the body markincluding the first highlighted area with real-time ultrasound imagedata and displays the resulting image on a display unit 111. Such anultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1 facilitates the visualconfirmation of the target area (site) with the first highlight by theexaminer or doctor (user) before the ultrasound examination, andimproves the precision and efficiency of the ultrasound examination ofthe first highlighted area.

The target position information indicates an area including a prioroccurrence of a lesion or a prior occurrence of a suspected lesion inthe subject, among the multiple areas in the body mark. By observing thefirst highlighted area before the ultrasound examination, the examineror doctor can readily confirm the target area (site) based on the priorexaminations, and the ultrasound examination can be conducted on thefirst highlighted area with high precision and high efficiency.

The ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1 includes a body-mark divider106 that segments a body mark into multiple areas in accordance with theoperation of the input unit 101. The highlighted-area determiner 109determines the first highlighted area among multiple areas in thesegmented body mark. The body mark can be segmented into any multipleareas that can be presented as first highlighted areas. Ultrasoundexaminations can be conducted on the first highlighted areas with highprecision and high efficiency in accordance with the segmented areas.

In the ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1, the communicating unit114 receives target position information in the subject from the medicalinformation server 7, which is another diagnostic apparatus, and thehighlighted-area determiner 109 determines the first highlighted areaamong multiple areas in the body mark on the basis of the receivedtarget position information. Such automatic determination of the firsthighlighted area can reduce the burden of the examiner, and achieveultrasound examinations with high precision and high efficiency in viewof diagnostic results of another diagnostic apparatus.

In the ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1, the controller 112 readstarget position information from the scanning-information storage unit108, which stores the target position information of the subject, andthe highlighted-area determiner 109 determines the first highlightedarea among the multiple areas in the body mark on the basis of thetarget position information. In this way, the ultrasound examinationscan be conducted with high precision and high efficiency in view of thetarget position information.

Alternatively, the input unit 101 may receive an input of targetposition information from the examiner or doctor, and thehighlighted-area determiner 109 may determine the first highlighted areaamong the multiple areas in the body mark on the basis of the targetposition information.

In the sequential examination procedures of scanning the target areas inthe body mark for generation of ultrasound image data with theultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1, the controller 112 connects theultrasound image data to the areas in the body mark and stores theultrasound image data in the scanning-information storage unit 108.Since the ultrasound image data is stored in the scanning-informationstorage unit 108 in connection with the areas, the ultrasound image dataconnected to the area assigned by the operator can be retrieved from thescanning-information storage unit 108 and displayed on the display unit111.

In the sequential examination procedures of scanning the target areas inthe body mark for generation of ultrasound image data with theultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1, the highlighted-area determiner109 determines the currently examined area to be the second highlightedarea, and the display combiner 110 combines the body mark including thesecond highlighted area with the real-time ultrasound image data anddisplays the resulting image on the display unit 111. Thus, the examinercan visually observe the second highlighted area during the ultrasoundexamination and can readily confirm the current target area. Moreover,each ultrasound examination procedures of the target area can beconducted with high precision and high efficiency.

The ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1 includes an input unit 101that receives a predetermined input from the operator, ahighlighted-area determiner 109 that determines a third highlighted areaincluding a position corresponding to a lesion or a suspected lesion onthe basis of the input by the operator, and a display combiner 110 thatoutputs the first highlighted area and the third highlighted area to thedisplay unit 111 for simultaneous display. Thus, the user can readilyand simultaneously observe the first highlighted area and the thirdhighlighted area based on the input by the operator.

The ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1 includes a controller 112that counts the examination time for each area, a highlighted-areadeterminer 109 that determines the area that requires the longestexamination time to be a third highlighted area including a positioncorresponding a lesion or a suspected lesion, and a display combiner 110that outputs the first and third highlighted areas to the display unit111 for simultaneous display. In this way, the display combiner 110 alsofunctions as an output controller. Thus, the user can readily andsimultaneously observe the first highlighted area and the thirdhighlighted area, which requires the longest examination time.

The controller 112 may generate a report enabling simultaneous visualobservation of the first and third highlighted areas and send the reportto a printer (not shown) for print out. In such a case, the controller112 functions as an output controller.

The display combiner 110 of the ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 1combines the body mark including the third highlighted area with theultrasound image data generated during the examination on to the thirdhighlighted area, and displays the resulting image on the display unit111. Thus, the user can readily observe the third highlighted areahaving a long examination time or an input operation, after thesequential examination procedures, and can diagnose the ultrasound imageof this area with high precision and high efficiency.

The ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus according to the embodimentsdescribed above should not be construed to limit the present invention.

For example, the body marks 310 b to 310 e respectively illustrated inFIGS. 8A to 8E each include only a second highlighted area.Alternatively, the body marks may include other highlighted areas. Forexample, the body marks 310 b to 310 e may include a first highlightedarea (in the area 312) in addition to the second highlighted area.

The detailed configuration and detailed operation of the componentsconstituting the medical image management system 1000 according to theembodiments described above may be modified in various ways withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention.

The present U.S. patent application claims priority under the ParisConvention of Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-200682 filed on Oct.9, 2015 the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

What is claimed is:
 1. An ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus whichoutputs transmission ultrasound into a subject—and which generatesultrasound image data based on ultrasound reflected from the subject,the apparatus comprising: an input receiver that receives targetposition information on a target position regarding the subject; ahighlighted-area determiner that determines a first highlighted areaamong multiple areas in a body mark based on the target positioninformation; and a display combiner that displays the body markincluding the first highlighted area together with the generatedultrasound image data on a display unit.
 2. The ultrasound imagediagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the target positioninformation indicates an area including a prior occurrence of a lesionor a lesion in the subject, among the multiple areas in the body mark.3. The ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1,further comprising: an input unit that receives operation information;and a body-mark divider that segments the body mark into multiple areasin accordance with the operation information, wherein thehighlighted-area determiner determines the first highlighted area amongthe multiple areas in the segmented body mark.
 4. The ultrasound imagediagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, the input receiverreceives the target position information from another diagnosticapparatus, and the highlighted-area determiner determines the firsthighlighted area among the multiple areas in the body mark based on thereceived target position information.
 5. The ultrasound image diagnosticapparatus according to claim 1, wherein, the input receiver reads thetarget position information from a first storage unit which stores thetarget position information on the subject, and the highlighted-areadeterminer determines the first highlighted area among the multipleareas in the body mark based on the read target position information. 6.The ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a controller that connects ultrasound image data to themultiple areas in the body mark and stores the resulting data in asecond storage unit, the ultrasound image data being generated byexaminations of sequential scanning of multiple target areas in the bodymark.
 7. The ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1,wherein, the highlighted-area determiner determines an area in a currentexamination procedure to be a second highlighted area, in theexaminations performing the sequential scanning of the multiple targetareas in the body mark for generation of ultrasound image data to bedisplayed, and the display combiner displays the body mark including thesecond highlighted area together with the generated ultrasound imagedata on the display unit.
 8. The ultrasound image diagnostic apparatusaccording to claim 1, further comprising: an input unit that receives apredetermined input from an operator; and an output controller, wherein,the highlighted-area determiner determines a third highlighted areaincluding a position corresponding to a lesion or a suspected lesionbased on the input by the operator, and the output controller outputsthe first highlighted area and the third highlighted area forsimultaneous visual observation.
 9. The ultrasound image diagnosticapparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a timing controllerthat counts the examination time of each of the areas; and an outputcontroller, wherein, the highlighted-area determiner determines the areacorresponding to the longest examination time counted by the timingcontroller to be a third highlighted area including a positioncorresponding to a lesion or a suspected lesion, and the outputcontroller outputs the first highlighted area and the third highlightedarea for simultaneous visual observation.
 10. The ultrasound imagediagnostic apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the output controllerdisplays the body mark including the third highlighted area togetherwith ultrasound image data generated corresponding to the thirdhighlighted area on the display unit.